This article is an interview with the first authors of a paper published in the Journal of Cell Science. The authors, Emily D. McParland and T. Amber Butcher, conducted research on the Drosophila Canoe protein and its role in linking cell junctions to the cytoskeleton during embryonic development. They found that a specific domain of the Canoe protein, called the Dilute domain, is not essential for this linkage but supports the robustness of morphogenesis. The authors also discuss the challenges they faced during the project and their motivations for pursuing a career in science. [Extracted from the article]